The field of the disclosure relates generally to production of fissile material, and more specifically, to methods and systems for producing fissile material from non-radioactive feedstock.
Launching of nuclear material on space launch vehicles has generally not been implemented. One reason is due to the public concern over any possible release of nuclear materials due to a launch vehicle failure. While the risk is statistically small, the political climate is un-accepting of such a risk, and therefore, the mission enabling technology of nuclear power in space is not yet realized.
Contributing to the perceived risk is the possibility of terrorists stealing the nuclear material before launch and the costs associated with the necessary security. Another problem is the high cost of handling nuclear material and making the vehicle safe for ground handling and launch. Some spacecraft have utilized nuclear radioisotope thermoelectric generators that provide limited power, but no propulsion or high capacity power generation capabilities.
Conventional technology for generation of power and energy in space primarily includes solar cells. However, for short duration missions, chemical batteries have a sufficient useful life. One problem with solar cells and chemical batteries and other existing non-nuclear power generation systems is that they have low power densities. In short, such systems weigh more for the same energy about as compared to a nuclear powered generator.
Existing non-nuclear propulsion systems have either low specific impulse, low thrust, or both.